The 1990s
1990
USD ranks fourth in the U.S. News & World Report regional university survey.
1991
USD is awarded $1 million James Irvine Foundation grant to launch campus-wide cultural diversity project.
1992
USD named the site of a presidential debate between President George H.W. Bush and contender Bill Clinton; canceled when Bush pulls out.
1993
Women's basketball wins WCC championship despite predictions of last-place finish. Advances to NCAA tournament.
1994
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching reclassified USD as a "Doctoral University II" institution, recognizing the strides the university had made in graduate studies and research.
1995
President Author E. Hughes retires after 24 years. Alice B. Hayes, vice president and provost of Saint Louis University, is named his successor.
1996
President Bill Clinton and Sen. Bob Dole debate in a nationally televised event from the newly renovated Shiley Theatre.
1997
Women's swimming and diving squad wins first championship.
1998
Joan B. Kroc provides $25 million gift, which establishes the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at USD. The benefactor later gives an additional $5 million to endow the Institute for Peace and Justice's Distinguished Lecture Series.
1999
Tennis player Zuzana Lesenarova wins NCAA championship, becoming the first Division I champion in USD history.
| 50th Anniversrty Snapshot | |
| Enrollment | 6,858 |
| Faculty | 584 |
| Undergraduate tuition | |
| Room and Board | |
| Degrees awarded | 1,659 |
| Major Campus Buildings | 28 |
| Square Footage | 1.4 million |